The December 2015 North American storm complex, also known as Winter Storm Goliath, was a major storm complex that produced a

tornado outbreak __NOTOC__ A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least two rotational l ...

, a

winter storm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...

, a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...

and an

ice storm An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on ex ...

in areas ranging from the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Tornadoes impacted areas around

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

while several other states, especially

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, were affected by heavy rain and snow causing severe floods. As the system moved through the Great Lakes region, heavy rain, ice pellets and heavy snow fell in the entire region. Wintry mix moved through southern Ontario and Quebec had significant snowfall on December 29. Almost 60 people were killed in the storm system and its aftermath, which made it one of the deadliest of such systems of 2015 in the United States.

Meteorological history

The outbreak was caused by a vigorous upper-level

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

that moved into the Central and Southern Plains states on December 25. An

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...

developed ahead of this upper-level trough over the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, which moved southeast into the Southwestern United States early on December 26. Continuing to move east, snow began to fall in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

, dropping up to , before rapidly dissipating. As the initial

low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...

moved over the United States–Mexico border, a southwards dip in the

jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering thermal wind, air currents in the Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are west ...

to the west had formed. In response to this, an

upper-level low A cold-core low, also known as an upper level low or cold-core cyclone, is a cyclone aloft which has an associated cold pool of air residing at high altitude within the Earth's troposphere, without a frontal structure. It is a low pressure syste ...

developed by evening on December 26. This upper-level low began to track to the north, drawing moisture from the Pacific Ocean and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. As it did so, a long cluster of heavy showers and

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

s fired up from eastern

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

to southwestern

, which set up a severe flooding event. Some areas picked up to over of rainfall, triggering several floods. At the same time, discrete tornadic

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...

s began to appear in areas of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. One of the cells produced a violent EF4

wedge tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

, which ripped through parts of

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

and

Rowlett, Texas Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. The total population estimate is 73,270 in 2021. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in dev ...

, causing major damage and killing 10 people. As the storm complex began to move to the north, more supercells began to appear with several more tornadoes being reported. By the early morning of December 27, the supercells merged into a

squall line A squall line, or more accurately a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), is a line of thunderstorms, often forming along or ahead of a cold front. In the early 20th century, the term was used as a synonym for cold front (which often are accompa ...

, with tornado reports beginning to diminish, but occasionally a few isolated tornadoes would be produced by the storm. While producing severe weather in the Deep South, the storm complex produced heavy snow and

conditions in the southwestern parts of

through December 26–27, as frigid temperatures had spilled south into the area just the previous day before. Strong winds contributed to power outages and blowing and drifting snow. The snowfall continued throughout the majority of December 27, before tapering off near midnight as the storm system began to pull out of the region. In total, the storm complex dumped up to of snow in the western parts of

, a very rare and historic occurrence in the affected areas. The storm had also produced a small but significant

in the central parts of Texas, with ice accumulations ranging up to in some areas, leading to thousands of power outages. By December 28, the storm complex had moved into the

Central United States The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern and Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the U.S. Census' definition of the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of ...

, producing more snow, ice, heavy rain, and severe weather in an area stretching from the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

into

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The upper-level low eventually began to take over as the dominant low, and had begun to make a more east-northeastwards turn. Spreading a swath of from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, the storm complex continued to accelerate into southern Canada while producing more ice, rain and severe weather as the southern quadrant approached the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

. Rain eventually reached areas like

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and New York City late on December 28, and persisted somewhat into the early morning hours of December 29. At this point, the storm system had already entered Canada, and its circulation was beginning to become elongated. The remnants of the storm eventually dissipated, early on December 30.

Confirmed tornadoes

December 26 event

December 27 event

December 28 event

Preparations and impact

Tornado outbreak

Texas

On December 26, 2015, the tornado outbreak portion of the storm system, with 32 tornadoes total confirmed, began when 12 tornadoes impacted Texas that evening, mostly in and around the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

, killing 13 people, which made it the deadliest tornado disaster in the area since the Dallas tornado of 1957, and added to the highest tornado death count in the U.S. for the month of December since 1953. An EF3 tornado moved through multiple subdivisions in Ovilla and

Glenn Heights, Texas Glenn Heights is a city in Dallas and Ellis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 11,278 at the 2010 census, and 15,819 in 2020. History Development of the community dates back to the late 1960s. N.L. 'Moe' Craddock, a Dallas f ...

on the south side of the metroplex, destroying numerous homes and two churches. Ten people in

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...

died as a result of a large and powerful EF4 wedge tornado that also destroyed many homes in the neighboring suburb of Rowlett. An EF2 tornado killed two people in Copeville, while an EF1 caused another fatality near Blue Ridge. Additional tornadoes touched down across the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

on December 27 and 28. Most of these tornadoes were weak, though EF2 tornadoes caused considerable damage near

Marianna, Arkansas Marianna is a town in and the county seat of Lee County, Arkansas, Lee County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 4,115, but by 2018 the population had dropped to an estimated 3,477. Lo ...

and

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of M ...

. More than 65,000 people lost power in the area due to the tornadoes. The

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

had to delay their

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game against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

by one hour due to the threat of severe weather. Damage from tornadoes in Texas alone is estimated at $1.2 billion. There were also 635 injuries.

Flooding

Southern United States

The storm system was responsible for heavy rain that caused severe flooding in 13 states, with

being especially impacted. Parts of the state were hit with over of heavy rainfall. At least 14 people died due to the floods in Missouri alone. In

Union, Missouri Union is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Missouri, United States. It is located on the Bourbeuse River, southwest of St. Louis. The population was 10,204 at the 2010 census, with the city showing the highest growth rate (32% ...

, the

Bourbeuse River The Bourbeuse River (French for 'muddy') is a river located in east-central Missouri, in the Ozarks region, and is one of two major tributaries of the Meramec River, the other being the Big River. The Bourbeuse flows to the northeast from its sou ...

rose to , above the preceding record of which occurred on December 5, 1982. More than 180 roads, including portions of Interstates 44, 55, and 70, and several bridges were closed. The

Meramec River The Meramec River (), sometimes spelled Maramec River, is one of the longest free-flowing waterways in the U.S. state of Missouri, draining Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Location" while wandering Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Executive Summary" fr ...

, near

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, crested above its previous record height, inundating nearby communities. At least 380 homes and 70 businesses were flooded in Franklin County. Approximately 140,000 sandbags were brought in to protect portions of the Bayshore subdivision in Arnold. At least 150 homes succumbed to flooding in the city. More than 100 boat rescues were conducted in

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

. Major flooding also occurred in south Alabama, where the Pea River in Elba, Alabama flooded. Most of the rainfall occurred on Christmas Eve day when training thunderstorms went over the same areas. All in all, a widespread occurred. Nine levees were topped—five along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, three along the Missouri River, and one along the

Kaskaskia River The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 in central and southern Illinois in the Un ...

—though the affected areas were predominantly unpopulated. Large stretches of the Mississippi River were placed on alert due to projected major flooding. Flash flooding also claimed seven lives in Illinois, two in Oklahoma, one in Arkansas, and one in Georgia.

Winter storm

High Plains

The combination of heavy snow, strong winds, and bitterly cold temperatures resulted in blizzard conditions across most of New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, western Oklahoma and West Texas. Some places in this area had over of snow but also snow drifts up to 12 feet (370 cm) high. In the path of this Texas low, a swath of snow and ice impacted the central Plains and Midwest from Oklahoma to Wisconsin as the storm system moved northeastward toward the eastern Great Lakes. The storm system spread a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain to New York State and New England, disrupting travel in the region. At least 1 person in New Mexico, and 4 people in Oklahoma died as a direct result of the winter storm system.

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

in western Texas was shut down due to the storm, while

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States. A small part of Midland is in Martin County. At the 2020 census, Midland's population was 132,524. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan ...

experienced their 3rd snowiest day on record.

Elsewhere and Canada

More than 750 flights were cancelled at

Chicago O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

, and hundreds more at Detroit, Toronto and Montreal. Due to a strong Arctic air mass north of the system, parts of northern Michigan, Ontario and all Quebec suffered blizzard conditions, with moderate snow bands and moderate winds as well. 20–30 cm of snow (8–12 in) fell in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

–

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

, less than 10 cm (4 in) in Toronto, and the greater Montreal region had 30–40 cm of snow (12–16 in). Four people died in Minnesota in a car accident linked to snow-covered roads. Two people died from overexertion while clearing snow in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, Wisconsin. Other similar indirect deaths from the winter storm were reported in New Mexico (1 death), Missouri (2), Michigan (1), New York (1), Vermont (3), New Hampshire (1), and Maine (1). The dairy industry in eastern New Mexico and western Texas lost 30,000 cows to the storm.

Notes

References

External links

North and Central Texas December 26, 2015 Tornado Outbreak
(NWS Fort Worth) {{DEFAULTSORT:2015-12-28 F4 tornadoes by date Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 United States,12 Storm complex,12 2015,12 Storm complex,2015,12 Storm complex,2015,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Mississippi River floods Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,12 Storm complex,2015,12 Storm complex,2015,12 Storm complex